Wanderers plunged into another crisis - everything fans need to know

WHITES chairman Ken Anderson has come under attack over his handling of the failed transfer of on-loan striker Christian Doidge.

The deal was virtually done, with the Forest Green Rovers hitman having bought a house near Bolton as he was about to sign a three-year deal to move North.

But the last-minute collapse of the transfer has prompted an angry reaction from Forest Green chairman Dale Vince, and leaves Wanderers facing the threat of legal action after the striker was recalled by his parent club.

Mr Dale said Wanderers had failed to honour their financial obligations and did not pay Doidge during his four-month loan, saying that Rovers had continued to pay his wages.

The Gloucestershire club is now considering its legal options to reclaim money it said it is owed.

The latest incident comes just over a month after Wanderers hit the headlines after players’ wages were not paid.

The Professional Footballers’ Association stepped in to help with the salaries, prompting a registration embargo by the league, stock has been reclaimed from the club shop, the hotel has been hit by a winding-up petition from HMRC and another player, Remi Matthews, was also recalled by Norwich, who are reportedly owed money by Wanderers.

Saturday’s gate against Walsall was the lowest for an FA Cup third round game since the war and fans have further voiced their discontent by organising a protest before, during and after the televised clash with West Brom on January 21.

Wanderers’ response to the Doidge transfer collapse was brief.

“Bolton Wanderers Football Club is aware of the statement issued by Forest Green Rovers chairman Dale Vince,” a statement read.

“We are disappointed to read the statement as the club has been in dialogue with Mr Vince and Forest Green Rovers over this situation.

“We are hopeful that a satisfactory resolution will follow.”

But even that brought a wry response from the Forest Green owner, who tweeted soon after the announcement: “Bolton saying they still think they can get a deal for Doidge reminds me of Theresa May saying she’ll still get a Brexit deal. It’s not going to happen.”

He later added: “Thanks to all the Bolton fans, really appreciate what’s been said. We don’t hold this against your club or fans, there’s one man to blame, hope your issues get sorted out soon. If our legal action helps with that then some good will have come from this.”

All transfer negotiations have been carried out by Anderson since he arrived at Wanderers in March 2016, including the sale of Gary Madine to Cardiff City last January for £6 million.

More than 50 loans and free transfers were signed despite Wanderers being under an embargo and it was not until this summer that the club paid a transfer fee when Charlton Athletic’s Josh Magennis joined for £200,000.

Doidge was signed on transfer deadline day after attempts to buy Ipswich’s Joe Garner and Bradford’s Charlie Wyke fell by the wayside. Local journalists were briefed at the time that the fee would reach £1million, depending on his success in the Championship.

Less than a fortnight after Doidge was signed, Anderson admitted Wanderers were close to being taken into administration over a £5million loan owed to finance company, BluMarble.

That scenario was avoided at the 11th hour thanks to a bridging loan from former owner Eddie Davies’s company Moonshift Investments. The former Farnworth Grammar School pupil and lifelong fan passed away on the same day Wanderers announced they had avoided administration – and it emerged after the event he had supplied the money well in advance of BluMarble’s demand.

READ MORE: Wanderers supporters plan mass protest to 'voice discontent'

Players went two weeks without pay in November, a situation which was only cleared up with the intervention of the players’ union, the PFA.

Anderson claimed he had “personally funded” salaries when they were eventually deposited in accounts on December 14, although sources at the union say an agreement was reached to pay both November and December pay-runs.

Trust in appeal to Whites chairman

THE Bolton Wanderers Supporters’ Trust has called for Ken Anderson to provide some assurances about the financial security of the club.

After striker Christian Doidge saw his move from Forest Green Rovers collapse this week the Trust has written on behalf of its members to both Anderson and the EFL to seek some transparency on the club’s short-term plans.

A statement released by the BWFCST on Sunday read: “Once again, the name of BWFC has been dragged through the mud as the FGR chair, Dale Vince has posted this evening that Christian Doidge will be returning to his parent club, instead of signing for BWFC in the planned £1m deal.

“This situation cannot, in all honesty, continue. We have requested on several occasions that our current owner, Mr Anderson, meets with us to allow us to better understand the challenges that he is facing and also in the hope that he can give the BWFC supporters some assurances that the immediate future of our club is not in jeopardy.

“We wrote to him on Friday to ask again that he engages in some meaningful dialogue. To date, we have had no response.

“The distressed situation that Mr Anderson inherited in March ’16 has been very well documented. We understand that tough decisions have had to be made. However, there seems to be no light whatsoever at the end of this long tunnel and the concerns of the BWFC supporters are growing almost daily.

“We are also in the process of contacting the EFL once again in an attempt to engage with them.

“All we can add at this stage is that we merely want to assist wherever possible and find out where this may be practical.

“We would also like to express our disappointment for Christian and his family and wish him all the best for the future.”

The BWFCST asked Anderson to provide more “structured dialogue” in November after growing increasingly concerned about the quality of information being passed out in the chairman’s regular web columns.

The chairman issued a critical response, accusing the Trust of trying to gain favourable treatment over other fans’ groups - a claim which was strongly denied at the time.

“I’ll be looking to have another Q&A forum in January and of course representatives from the Supporters Trust are more than welcome to attend alongside all our other supporters and we can all engage in some ‘structured dialogue.’” Anderson said.